St. John Bosco wide receiver and defensive back Jaleel Wadood is the 2013 Press-Telegram football Player of the Year. Bellflower Calif., Wednesday, November ,6, 2013.
(Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily Breeze)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jaleel Wadood, St. John Bosco, Sr.

It was early November, and St. John Bosco High was already 9-0 on its way to a 16-0 season in football that ultimately netted the Braves the CIF-SS Pac-5 championship as well as the State Open Division title.

St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro was asked to comment on his star iron-man player Jaleel Wadood, a wide receiver/safety. Negro went on and on about how strong Wadood is at his two positions as well as on return teams.

“He’s the most dominant two-way player I’ve ever worked with,” said Negro, who just completed his fourth season at the helm after being the head coach at Trabuco Hills for seven years.

How is this for dominance? Wadood caught 78 passes for 1,293 yards and 20 touchdowns. On defense, he made 144 tackles and picked off three passes. For his outstanding play, the UCLA-bound Wadood has been named Press-Telegram Dream Team Player of the Year.

Wadood, who has received several post-season awards, was stoked to hear of this one.

“It’s just a huge honor,” he said. “I made first-team defense as a sophomore, and I was really excited about that. But to be named Player of the Year for the whole thing is a great deal. It means a lot to me.”

When Wadood began his senior season, he really wanted to concentrate on defense even though he had shown as a junior he could play offense when he caught 15 passes and rushed for 249 yards. He was asked if he could have envisioned coming up with the kind of personal statistics he did in 2013.

“No, not really because football is not a ‘me’ sport,” he said. “I was mostly focused on playing good for my team and doing things to be a good teammate and get us W’s on the field.”

Without sounding boastful, Wadood said he already knew he was a standout performer, “but going both ways just really showed me I was an elite player.”

But again, it all comes back to the team. Wadood is simply over the moon about what it accomplished this season.

“It was great to be a part of something special like that, winning the first CIF championship (in program history) and then winning State,” Wadood said.

After Wadood graduates in June, it will be off to UCLA, assuming he signs with the Bruins. He has previously decommitted from both Cal and Arizona State.

“I grew up in L.A. and I was a USC fan when I was younger,” Wadood said. “Never really thought about going to UCLA and as the years went by UCLA started progressing as a program and I got around to going to the school and it was just a great fit for me.”

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Rashaad Penny, Norwalk, Sr.

His season was nothing short of historic. Penny rushed for 2,504 yards, added 665 yards receiving, and scored an astonishing 53 touchdowns to bring his career total to 103. He led Norwalk to their best season in 36 years, and will unquestionably go down as one of the best players in school history. How good was the Lancers’ season? So good, that Dec. 17 was declared Norwalk Lancer Football Day in the City of Norwalk.

“It’s been decades since we’ve seen that much support for our city,” said Norwalk’s Vice Mayor Marcel Rodarte. “It was something I don’t think they can fully understand. We do really appreciate what they did for the city.”

Penny himself scored a total of 320 points, which is seventh-best in the nation according to MaxPreps, and was more than five of the other six teams in the Suburban League.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Iman Marshall, Long Beach Poly, Jr.

Normally the Press-Telegram Dream Team Defensive Player of the Year puts up gaudy stats — junior cornerback Iman Marshall didn’t do that for Long Beach Poly this year. In what may have been the best season by a defensive back anywhere in America this year, he had just one interception, to go with 64 tackles. But Marshall didn’t give up a single reception during the entire Moore League season, or while in man coverage against Barry Ware, the UCLA-bound pass-catcher for Corona Centennial. He similarly shut down nationally-ranked receivers against St. Bonaventure. Poly coach Raul Lara said Marshall has “a chance to be one of the best defenders ever to come out of Long Beach Poly.” Considering what he achieved in his junior year, it’s easy to understand the excitement. Marshall will run track in the spring for Poly, and finishes his junior season with 22 scholarship offers, including LSU, Stanford, and Florida State.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:

Sean McGrew, St. John Bosco, So.

Gaining 1,928 yards scoring 23 touchdowns for a state champion is worthy of a distinguished honor. Posting those numbers as a sophomore is an entirely different thing. McGrew averaged 128.5 yards a game and 10.7 yards per carry with help from his massively talented offensive line, and he was always the first to give the big boys up front all the credit.

“Honestly, I don’t even know how I scored seven touchdowns,” McGrew said after doing exactly that in the regional bowl victory over Corona Centennial. The diminutive sophomore scored seven times while racking up 366 yards on just 15 carries. “I’ve just gotta give credit to my O-line. They opened up holes all night and I just had to do my job.”

“Yeah, he works hard,” Negro said of McGrew. “He comes to work every day, he lifts hard in the weight room and does good things like that. He’s got a lot of speed, and we’re great up front. All he needs is a little seam and he can pop it.”

COACH OF THE YEAR

Jason Negro, St. John Bosco

In his fourth year at the helm of the St. John Bosco’s football program, head coach Jason Negro led a season for the ages. The Bosco alumnus (‘91) guided the 16-0 Braves (one of the first teams in California history to accomplish that mark) to their second-straight Trinity League title, the school’s first football CIF title, a Southern California regional championship and a state championship over the mighty De La Salle of the North. And don’t forget the right to call themselves national champions after finishing No.1 in numerous polls.

Negro’s Braves left little doubt that they were the best team in Southern California, steamrolling their way through the competition with Bosco’s high-powered spread offense and physical defense with multiple Div. I athletes all over the field.

Including this season’s undefeated mark, Negro has gone 37-14 in his four seasons at Bosco.

In his first season, Negro went 5-5, with a 1-4 league record, but quickly improved, going 8-4 and 8-5 in back-to-back seasons and has built the Braves into an emerging national powerhouse.

Negro got his start coaching when a friend asked if he would help coach a local Pop Warner team, the Bellflower Colts. They went 54-1 in five seasons.

Once Negro graduated from CSU Dominguez Hills with a degree in mathematics, Negro returned to Bosco coaching defensive backs 1998. By 2003 at the age of 29 he took over the program at Trabuco Hills High School. After turning around the Mustangs, taking them to two CIF semifinals and two CIF finals, Negro once again returned to the Braves.

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

QB Josh Rosen, St. John Bosco, Jr.

It could be a long time before local high school football sees a more successful season with better statistics. Then again, Rosen will be back for his senior season in 2014 as the Braves defend their titles. As a junior in his second full season as a starter, Rosen completed 68 percent of his passes while throwing for more than 3,000 yards and 39 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.

Rosen passed for four or more touchdowns in five different games and also rushed for 347 yards and eight touchdowns on just 60 carries out of the read option look. His most effective night on the ground came against Mater Dei in the CIF Pac-5 championship game when he gained 113 yards on 11 carries.

RB LaMarr Crowder, Cerritos, Sr.

Crowder helped resurrect a Cerritos program that cancelled its 2012 season after just four games. In his first season on varsity, Crowder dominated in the Dons’ run-heavy attack, racking up 1,667 yards (185 per game) and 17 TDs in 9 games. His best performance came in Cerritos’ first win at Ocean View. Crowder ran 27 times for 332 yards and 7 touchdowns in the 63-28 victory.

“He always gave his all,” said head coach Darin Owens of his senior. “He’s one of those kids that practiced hard and played hard. One of those quiet leaders on the field.”

Crowder’s regular season rushing total was good for second-most in the area, behind only Rashaad Penny of Norwalk.

WR Shay Fields, St. John Bosco, Sr.

After missing virtually all of last season’s Pac-5 playoffs with a broken collarbone as a junior, Fields returned with a record-breaking season and emerged as a premier wide receiver in Southern California to win Dream Team honors. Entering this season, Fields and his father laid out goals of 50 catches, 800 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fields not only met them, but smashed those goals with 82 catches, 1,617 yards and 17 scores, all school records held by a familiar face.

“It felt good to break my older cousin (Bryce Tregg’s) records,” said Fields. Treggs is now playing receiver at Cal. The senior blew up with a four-touchdown night against Crenshaw with USC coaches in the audience, eventually earning him a scholarship offer (he is verbally committed to the Trojans). Fields made headlines six weeks later with a 224-yard game and another four touchdowns against Agoura. The 224 yards tied a 39-year-old school record that was accomplished with 12 catches. Fields tied it with only four.

WR Dallis Todd, La Mirada, Sr.

While the La Mirada offense didn’t put up the numbers many expected of them this year, Todd was fantastic in several aspects. The 6-foot-5, Oklahoma-bound receiver did a lot for the Matadores that may have gone unnoticed.

“Dallis was our leader,” said head coach Mike Moschetti, “He’s all about winning, all about the team. He really stepped up his game blocking and caused so many problems for defenses. If you get him one-on-one, he’s gonna win that battle.”

He led the team with 46 catches for 753 yards and 7 TDs, and was at his best in his team’s final game, catching 4 touchdown passes in a 53-35 playoff loss at Muir.

WR Kevin Jackson, St. Anthony, Sr.

The senior started 2013 with a bang and never looked back as he set the school single season record for touchdown catches with 14 in 11 games. Jackson had three touchdown catches in a season-opening 48-0 win over Crean Lutheran as he helped quarterback Jake Hooper set some records of his own.

Jackson caught at least one touchdown in all but two Saints games and also helped lead his team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. St. Anthony fell to Desert in the first round but Jackson caught seven passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

OL Rodrigo Sanchez, Norwalk, Jr.

The junior tackle helped anchor an offensive line that paved the way for Norwalk’s double-wing offense that averaged 359 rushing yard per game and scored 73 rushing touchdowns this season. The Lancers made it to the CIF-SS Southeast Division title game and finished 13-1.

Sanchez stands 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds and started last season as just a sophomore.

Compared to last year, the junior has seen his knowledge of the game increase tremendously and spent more time in the weight room. Sanchez picked up the sport relatively late. Lancers head coach Jesse Ceniceros discovered Sanchez, a kid much bigger than all the others middle schoolers, playing goalie in a youth soccer game. Sanchez always wanted to play football, but was always too big to play in Pop Warner leagues.

A self-described ‘aggressive mauler’ on the line, Sanchez is looking to improve on his vocal leadership for his senior-year campaign.

OL Michael Trani, La Mirada, Sr.

The leader of the Matadores offensive line, Trani’s senior year was anything but easy. The Cal-bound senior, who holds a 3.8 GPA, battled through injury trouble the entire season.

“He was hurt all year,” said head coach Mike Moschetti. “He could’ve cashed it in. Every week was constant battle with rehab and being at the doctors, but every week he lined up and battled. Everything he does is about the team.”

Trani helped a restructured La Mirada offense run for nearly 8 yards-per-carry this season, attempting to cope with the loss of standout quarterback Kevin Dillman.

OL Gasetoto “G-Mac” Schuster, Long Beach Poly, Sr.

If you want to know Schuster’s value to the Jackrabbits as a center, just look at the games he didn’t play in. The senior played both ways this year, and had 30 tackles as an interior defensive lineman. But his real worth to his team was as the leader of the offensive line, helping his teammates read the defense. When Schuster was sidelined in the playoffs, Poly picked up just 80 yards rushing on 28 attempts in a loss to Mater Dei that ended their season. The honors student is deciding between offers from Utah State and UTEP for his college career.

OL Zachary Robertson, St. John Bosco, Jr.

All you have to do is take one look at Robertson’s recruiting profile to get an idea of how good this young man is in the trenches. Only a junior, the 6-foot-4, 313-pound tackle had been offered by Cal, UCLA, USC and Utah as of Dec. 4. He helped solidify an incredibly talented offensive line that was a big reason why the championship-winning Braves averaged a whopping 47.1 points over a tough 16-game slate.

OL Damien Mama, St. John Bosco, Sr.

At 6-foot-5, 370 pounds, Mama was the undeniable anchor on an almost unbelievably talented offensive line. He is highly sought after. At last count, no less than 28 high-major Division I offers had come his way. Among them are offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida State, Nebraska, Oklahoma and so on, as well as 10 of the Pac-12 schools, including UCLA and USC. Mama likes to play “nasty” football. Enough said.

K Reid Budrovich, St. John Bosco, Sr.

With the Braves scoring at will against most of their opponents, Budrovich had plenty of chances to show his leg strength. The senior booted 100 touchbacks on 131 kickoff attempts. He also converted on 93 of 97 extra point attempts and connected on 11 field goals with a long of 41 yards coming against Chandler in week three.

Budrovich, who finished the season with 126 points scored, started kicking for St. John Bosco because the freshman team didn’t have a kicker and he had some experience after playing soccer until eight grade. Also a very good baseball pitcher and outfielder, Budrovich dreams of playing both sports at the next level.

All-Purpose Dashawn Gordon, Los Alamitos, Sr.

Not only did this senior lead his team with 68 catches, 877 receiving yards and seven of the 13 receiving touchdowns for the Griffins, Gordon and fellow senior Kendall Brownlow were one of the most dangerous kick and punt return units in the Southern Section. The most memorable punt return of the season came in week six at Marina when Gordon caught a line drive at the 40-yard line and shook two defenders before breaking towards the sideline. When he did, it set up a huge block from Mike Hayden in front of the Griffin bench and Gordon went untouched for the touchdown.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

DL Malik Dorton, St. John Bosco, Sr.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Dorton was one of many fine players on a defense that allowed an average of only 16.5 points even though the Braves played what had to be one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Dorton, who is committed to USC, had 66 tackles and five sacks in helping St. John Bosco to the CIF-SS Pac-5 and State titles. The Pac-5 championship was the program’s first sectional crown.

DL Jason “Pops” Fao, Long Beach Poly, Sr.

A rare four-year defensive starter for the Jackrabbits—the first since All-American cornerback Darrell Rideaux—Fao’s impact can’t be overstated. A mean, physical defensive lineman, he had 97.5 tackles this year, including 28 for a loss. The six-foot-one, 285-pound Fao had quick enough feet and a sharp enough understanding of the game to play some linebacker, and Poly also used him on offense as a fearsome lead blocker. Poly coach Raul Lara said Fao, “hits people so hard you’re always worried he’s going to really hurt someone.”

Defensive coordinator Jeff Turley said he made some of the hardest hits he’d ever seen from a Poly defender — high praise indeed. Fao is undecided on next year but has offers from New Mexico State, UTEP, and Utah State, among others.

DL Mike Hayden, Los Alamitos, Sr.

As the anchor of the Griffin defensive line, Hayden racked up 88 tackles, second best on the team, and had a team-high 19 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. But the value of Hayden is his versatility. The 5-foot-11, 230-pound senior also had eight pass deflections and served as the short-yardage running back for Los Alamitos.

Hayden only carried the ball 23 times but scored nine touchdowns while helping the Griffins win nine games this season. In the second round of the playoffs, he scored a touchdown while making a season-high 15 tackles and causing a fumble.

DL Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, St. John Bosco, Sr.

The 6-foot-2, 250 pound defensive end helped anchor a physical defense line that gave opposing offensive lines nightmares all season and helped the Bosco defense shut down a slew of potent offenses, giving up an average of 16.5 points per game.

Tuioti-Mariner finished the season with 108 tackles (third-highest on the team after finishing with only 36 last year), four tackles for a loss and three fumble recoveries. Where the senior made his mark was getting to the quarterback. Tuioti-Mariner led the team by a wide margin with 12 sacks this season. The next closest player had 6.5 sacks.

When pondering Leniu’s statistics this season, they are head-shaking. How does 238 tackles sound? That is 238 in one season, not three. It seemed like Leniu was in on every play, even though he wasn’t and the Braves did have other fine defensive stalwarts. Leniu, a Washington State commit, also had two interceptions, including a dazzling one during his team’s 20-14 victory over De La Salle in the State title game.

LB Keith Walker, Mayfair, Sr.

Head coach Mike Fitch called him, “our best defender by far,” and the final statistics don’t lie. The lone Monsoon on the first team, Walker led his team with 152 tackles on the season, 70 more than his closest teammate.

After losing their first three games of the season by a combined score of 123-14, Mayfair went on a three-game winning streak in Suburban League play to make the playoffs. Walker racked up 48 tackles in those wins over Glenn, La Mirada and Cerritos and then had a season-high 21 tackles in a 41-36 loss to finalist and top-ranked Norwalk.

LB Caleb Turner, Long Beach Poly, Sr.

At middle linebacker, Turner was the centerpiece of a fearsome Poly defense this year, which ground down high-powered attacks like Corona Centennial and St. Bonaventure, and gave up just six points in six Moore League contests. The UC Davis commit had 131 tackles this year, including 109 solo. He had double-digit solo tackles in half of Poly’s games, and racked up more than 30 tackles for a loss, as well.

He really shone in Poly’s 18-16 grindhouse defeat of Orange Lutheran in the first week of the playoffs, making reads perfectly and racking up six solo tackles for a loss against the triple option.

DB Darren Gardenhire, Cabrillo, Sr.

Gardenhire, known around Long Beach as “G-Man,” was Mr. Do-Everything for the Cabrillo Jaguars this season. At one point late in the season, coach Jason Brown joked that the only thing he hadn’t asked Gardenhire to do was call plays. At one point or another this year, he got the ball as a running back, receiver, punt returner, kick returner, and punter. His primary role, though, was in the secondary, as he lined up all over the defensive backfield. He had 97 tackles, three interceptions, 10 pass deflections, and three forced fumbles. Gardenhire is committed to the University of Washington.

DB Denzel Fisher, Compton Centennial, Sr.

At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Fisher has the look of a prototypical cornerback. In fact, those measurables are a perfect match to another great cornerback to hail from Compton — Seattle Seahawks All-Pro corner Richard Sherman — who was listed at the exact same size during his senior season at Dominguez in 2005.

The UCLA-bound Fisher was a bright spot for a struggling Centennial team this year, lining up all over the field to account for 1,321 all-purpose yards. But his name was made on defense, where he led the Apaches with 4 interceptions and was fourth on the team in tackles with 105 in 10 games. He’s a smooth runner with good speed and is a deceptively physical tackler in run support.

DB Naijiel Hale, St. John Bosco, Sr.

Opposing quarterbacks have learned over the past three seasons to not throw Hale’s way. As a sophomore at Lakewood High School, Hale picked off seven passes to lead the Moore League. As a junior, his first season at St. John Bosco, the defensive back recorded four interceptions, which led the team. This year the senior was not challenged often and only intercepted one pass, almost returning it for a touchdown against Corona Centennial in the SoCal regional final.

The Braves’ shutdown corner recorded 70 tackles, three tackles for a loss and one sack to go along with his one interception and four passes defended.

Hale was named to the U.S. Army All-American team, and he is committed to play at the University of Arizona in the fall.

DB John “JuJu” Smith, Long Beach Poly, Sr.

Arguably the best football player to come out of the city of Long Beach since DeSean Jackson a decade ago, Smith was one of the most talented players in the nation this year, as a consensus top 15 recruit in the senior class. While sidelined for a few games with injury this year, he still contributed on both sides of the ball for Poly, with 750+ yards and seven TDs as a receiver/running back, and 71 tackles playing safety.

After taking official visits to Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, and USC, Smith is considering his collegiate decision prior to Signing Day on Feb. 5.

P Blake Johnson, Los Alamitos, Jr.

Not only did this junior make 85 tackles on as a starting linebacker on the Griffins defense, Johnson is also one of the nation’s best punters in his class. He had four sacks and an interception while averaging 36.3 yards per punt and putting 15 out of 52 punts inside the 20-yard line.

“I have to relax myself,” said Johnson of going from linebacker to punter in as little as four plays. “When I’m playing linebacker, I’m just trying to rip someone’s head off like my Dad and my coaches taught me. But punting is mental. It’s all about technique.”

Johnson has multiple Pac-12 schools interested in his skills and he’s excited for the opportunity to continue both skill sets at the next level.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

QB – Jorge Reyna, Downey

RB – Adam Carrasco, La Mirada

RB – Jeremy Calhoun, Long Beach Poly

WR – Andrew Gose, Bellflower

WR – Christian Pabico, Long Beach Poly

TE – Tyler Luatua, La Mirada

OL – Aaron Armendarez, Norwalk

OL – Saualii “Serge” Fao, Long Beach Poly

OL – Elijah Zabuldoff, St. John Bosco

OL – Ben Bond, Millikan

OL – Arturo Gomez, Downey

K – Diego Sanchez, Bellflower

All-Purpose – Evan Ponce, Mayfair

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

DL – Ivan Martinez, St. John Bosco

DL – Maliek Villafranco, Compton Centennial

DL – Bruce Yun, Long Beach Wilson

DL – Joe Brown, Paramount

LB – Omari Lyles, Long Beach Poly

LB – Denzal Brantley, Los Alamitos

LB – Jared Utupo, Lakewood

DB – Elijah Moody, Long Beach Poly

DB – Chandler Hawkins, St. John Bosco

DB – Jarod Stevens, Lakewood

DB – Tytus Simmons, Artesia

P – R.D. Cole, St. John Bosco

HONORABLE MENTION OFFENSE

QB: Jake Hooper, St. Anthony

QB: Kaelon Price, Cabrillo

QB: Nick Wendell, Los Alamitos

QB/DB: Jacob Carr, Norwalk

QB/LB: David Castro, Avalon

RB: Joshua Ford, Dominguez

RB: Domonique Lee, Dominguez

RB: Keith Hairston, Dominguez

RB: Corey Redeaux, St. Anthony

RB: Donald Gordon, Millikan

RB/LB: Matthew Ortega, Norwalk

RB: Xavier Fuery, Norwalk

RB: Cristian Martinez, Avalon

RB: Ricky Moland, Cabrillo

RB: Jonathan Nicholson, Valley Christian

WR: Rahshead Johnson, Cabrillo

WR: Myles Davis, Lakewood

WR: DeAngelo Buchanan, Lynwood

OL: Fernando Viramontes, Millikan

OL: Drew Ho, Long Beach Poly

HONORABLE MENTION DEFENSE

DL: Rodney Shorter, Long Beach Poly

DL: Mace Asaeli, Long Beach Jordan

DL: Joseph Williams, Paramount

DL: Uriah Leiataua, Dominguez

LB: Jarid Joseph, Lakewood

LB: Christian Holland, St. John Bosco

LB: Isaia Rosten, Cabrillo

LB: Dean Duggan, Millikan

LB: Pauli Finau, Dominguez

LB: Jose Abrina, Norwalk

LB: Dominique Leggett, Cabrillo

DB: Miracole Kemp, Dominguez

DB: Tristan Esparza, Downey

DB: Daniel Moreno, Norwalk

DB: Justin Calhoun, Long Beach Poly

K: Ezekiel Diaz, Artesia

All-Purpose: Kendall Brownlow, Los Alamitos

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Trinity League: St. John Bosco

Moore League: Long Beach Poly

Suburban League: Norwalk

San Gabriel Valley League: Downey, Dominguez, Paramount

Coastal League: Avalon

GAME OF THE YEAR

Norwalk vs La Serna, CIF-SS Southeast Division championship

It’s fitting that one of the craziest games played in the Long Beach area this year was also one of the last games played this year.

The Norwalk Lancers entered the game undefeated at 13-0, in their first CIF title game since 1977. La Serna was in their third straight CIF title game, having lost both of the last two. After five lead changes, Norwalk led 29-21 and seemed headed for a title—but La Serna returned a late-game field goal attempt for a TD, then got the two-point conversion to tie it and force overtime. A missed XP attempt by Norwalk seemed likely to doom the Lancers, but Rashaad Penny blocked La Serna’s attempt. Finally, La Serna prevailed in double-overtime with a fourth-down touchdown pass that ended the game.

JJ Fiddler is a sportswriter and videographer who has been covering Long Beach-area sports for multiple newspapers since 2004. After attending Long Beach State and creating the first full sports page at the Union Weekly Newspaper, he adopted Long Beach as his home town and is a member of the Long Beach Century Club, where he is a two-time winner of the Keith Cordes Award for best promotion of the city through sports.

Mike Guardabascio has been writing professionally for 15 years and covering Long Beach sports for a decade. His work has been published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He's won numerous awards and is the author of the historical book "Football in Long Beach" and co-author of "Basketball in Long Beach."